1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates to body mount assemblies for vehicles wherein the mount assembly interlocks about a frame of the vehicle during installation of the mount assembly.
2. Description of Related Art
Body mount assemblies for vehicles are well known in the art. Examples of such assemblies are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,809,427; 4,286,777; and 4,720,075. Each of these assemblies include upper and lower insulators for coupling a frame of the vehicle to a vehicle body.
The '427 and '075 patents also include upper and lower cup shaped carriers for supporting the insulators. Each of the carriers includes a tube and a flange with the tubes encapsulating each other to interconnect the lower carrier to the upper carrier. A fastener is then inserted through the tubes to secure the carriers together and to secure the insulators about the frame. It is advantageous to have the carriers be interlocked to each other before the installation of the fastener such that the carriers remain interconnected. The interlocking of the carriers can be accomplished by flaring an end of one of the tubes, such as disclosed in the '427 patent, or by providing a locking washer, such as disclosed in the '075 patent. The prior art mount assemblies that disclose a means to interlock the carriers require additional manufacturing steps, additional installation steps, and/or additional components. Further, the carriers of the prior art mount assemblies are all formed of a metallic material and do not provide any additional isolation of movement as the frame moves relative to the vehicle body.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to develop a mount assembly that includes interlocking carriers while minimizing the manufacturing steps, installation steps, and/or components and while also isolating movement of the frame relative to the vehicle body.